MLB Player News

Blackmon went 2-for-3 with a solo home run, three runs, two RBI and two walks in Saturday's win over the Marlins.

The 33-year-old continued his hot start to August, as he's now 23-for-63 with four home runs and 14 runs to begin the month. Blackmon has 91 runs and 67 RBI to accompany his 25 home runs this season.

Alvarez went 2-for-3 with a pair of home runs and three RBI in an 8-4 loss against the Athletics on Saturday.

The 22-year-old supplied the only Astros offense after the third inning during the defeat. The rookie is batting .344 but even more impressively, he already has 19 home runs in 192 at-bats. He's owns a .719 slugging percentage, 55 RBI and 34 runs in 52 games as well.

Belt went 2-for-5 with a home run and six RBI in Saturday's 11-6 win over the Diamondbacks.

Belt blasted a grand slam off Diamondbacks starter Taylor Clarke in the second inning, giving the Giants a lead they never relinquished. Belt also had an RBI single in the third inning and plated the Giants' final run of the night on a groundout in the eight inning. The first baseman may be heating up after going 5-for-14 with two homers and eight RBI over his last three games. For the year, the 31-year-old is batting .232 with 14 homers, 48 RBI and 62 runs scored.

Ohtani threw a 40-pitch bullpen session Saturday, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

Ohtani's velocity reportedly reached 85 mph Saturday, the highest number he's hit since undergoing Tommy John surgery last October. The 25-year-old also threw breaking balls for the first time since the surgery, saying that it was a good sign because his curveball hurt his elbow the most before the injury.

Ohtani is out of the starting lineup for Saturday's matchup against the White Sox.

Mike Trout will be the designated hitter as Brian Goodwin will get the start in center field and hit sixth against lefty Hector Santiago. Ohtani had made nine straight starts and was 14-for-39 with seven RBI and six runs scored over that stretch. The left-handed-hitting star is slashing .253/.330/.398 in 94 plate appearances against southpaws.

Winker is dealing with upper-back tightness, which is why he's sitting out Saturday, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports. "I just woke up. I slept on it wrong," Winker said. "That's when I first started feeling it. Then it progressively got worse. Just a little back spasm. Unfortunately, it happened, but I should be all right. Hopefully I will start to feel better by the end of today or start feeling better tomorrow."

Winker went on to say that the issue bothers him both when throwing and hitting. It's noteworthy and a bit cryptic that manager David Bell said that the back issue isn't why Winker didn't play Friday. "It's not why [Winker] didn't play last night," Bell said. "But it was a bigger reason why he's not playing today."

Turner went 2-for-5 with a solo home run in Friday's victory over Atlanta.

After Max Muncy powered Los Angeles into the lead with a three-run bomb in the seventh inning, Turner made it back-to-back jacks with a 415-foot shot to center field. The long ball was Turner's fifth in his last five games and 22nd overall this season. He has enjoyed a strong August, slashing .314/.375/.706 with a 1.081 OPS, six homers and 11 RBI through 14 games.

Winker is not in Saturday's lineup against the Cardinals.

The Reds are starting Phillip Ervin in left field, even against a righty (Miles Mikolas). Winker is hitting .281 with one home run in 32 at-bats this month but has not played since Wednesday.

Ozuna went 3-for-4 with an RBI double and a run in a win over the Reds on Friday.

Ozuna didn't participate in the Cardinals' four-homer derby, but he opened the scoring with his first-inning two-bagger. The veteran outfielder's three-hit effort was his first in nearly two months and was another step in the right direction following his long absence due to multiple finger fractures. After going just 1-for-12 over the first four games following his return, Ozuna is hitting .333 (9-for-27) with two doubles, two home runs, four RBI, five walks and six runs in the subsequent eight contests.

Alvarez went 2-for-2 with a double and a pair of walks in Friday's 3-2 extra-innings loss to the Athletics.

Alvarez reached in all four of his plate appearances before being replaced by pinch runner Jake Marisnick after doubling in the eighth inning. The rookie designated hitter has posted a .339/.425/.688 line with 17 homers, 52 RBI and 15 doubles in 219 plate appearances this season.